Today we left Cooperstown and are in New York City. Tony’s and Cal’s induction into the Hall of Fame was yesterday and it was a day to remember (I didn’t write this yesterday because I was too tired by the time we got back to the hotel). The day was warm but there were enough clouds in the sky to keep it manageable. We paid extra for good seats and that turned out to be the best investment we’ve made so far. We were right behind the press tables and could easily see the people on stage.

If you’ve read anything at all about the weekend you know that this was a record crowd for an induction weekend: there were about 75,000 of us. It was also a record weekend for Hall of Fame Members: there are currently 63 living members and 55 of them were there. They were all on stage behind Tony and Cal and it was hard to imagine just how much talent was on the stage. I’m sure that all HOF speeches are a series of thank you’s but given what a class act they both are, these speeches were above and beyond. I’m still looking for the texts of the speeches but they were both moving in different ways. Tony depended less on his notes and it felt more like it was from his heart. Cal read his but the speech was more polished. Neither was better than the other and they both gave a good sense of who they are as men.

I also want to thank the village of Cooperstown. It’s a small place and they did a very good job of accommodating all of us. There were some glitches with the shuttle buses but that was more a matter of them promising what couldn’t be done. We were picked up at our lot but got stuck in such a huge traffic jam that it was quicker for us to get out and walk (which is what we did). There were just too many vehicles and too few roads.

We’re definitely planning a return trip.